Criminals will often watch different individuals to determine who is not paying attention and who is most likely to be surprised by their actions.  Criminals are looking to take the victim by surprise because if the victim is surprised, the criminal is much more likely to be successful. ...

Trusting others also makes the elderly a target for scammers. The “grandparents” scam is one that seems to always be around. The “grandparents” scam is when an older person receives a call, usually in the middle of the night, from someone claiming to be their grandchild. The caller claims they’re in trouble and need money immediately and to not tell mom and dad. They play on your emotions. The caller will usually ask the victim to buy gift cards and scratch off the back of the card to reveal the ID number, and then have them read the number over the phone. This is a scam that has been going on for years. ...